On Sept. 4, 1998, “Rumble in Reno” took place. The promotion had nine fights on the card and was headlined by Vladimir Matyushenko taking on Joe Pardo.
The Belarus fighter won the bout by decision to improve to 5-0. “The Janitor” went on to finish his career with a record of 27-8, as the now 48-year-old last competed at Bellator 116, where he was submitted by Joey Beltran. He also competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he fought the likes of Alexander Gustafsson, Ryan Bader and Jon Jones.
Also of note on the card was “Crazy” Bob Cook, who knocked out Danny Grider with a palm strike. It was the now American Kickboxing Academy coach and manager’s professional mixed martial arts debut. He went on to go 5-0 before calling it a career.